Buying a farm in Floyd, VA

[jerryinfla]

Congratulations on making your dream come true Tom -- and it looks like a dream too! We visited friends who live near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia a few years ago and spent a few nights with them. It was wonderful, cool nights even in the middle of the summer, and the air was so fresh it seemed like we could taste it. I know you'll love it there and I look forward to reading reports and seeing photos of your garden plot.

[lakelady]

Wow Tom, the new place looks fabulous!! I'm jealous lol....such a gorgeous view it looks just magnificent. I wish you all the best with the new dream, the new home, and a new zip code!

I have clay loam and my tomatoes do great, i just add some compost into each planting hole. Every vegetable I've grown does well in this soil, I just need the lime because of acidity here.

Hey, I just thought of something....You aren't going to have to cut all that grass, are you??? holy cow that's a lot of lawn lol

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by lakelady

Hey, I just thought of something....You aren't going to have to cut all that grass, are you??? holy cow that's a lot of lawn lol

All the more reason to enlarge the garden!

Tom, Congratulations on realizing your dream. Enjoy it!

[Deborah]

Out here that beautiful property would be in the many millions. Enjoy every inch !

[meadowyck]

Oh the blue ridge is a most wonderful place to have a homestead. You will love it there, make sure to plan on an electric fence around your garden or you might not have one...LOL most of the wildlife will have it either trampled down from passing through or eaten once they find out what ya are growing.

Make sure your garden area is away from your hay area.

So happy to hear of your wonderful new home, you will be awe struck at the beauty you will see from your home, I see many lazy evenings sitting on the front porch, so make sure you install if you don't already have one, a good old time swing for you and your wife.

[rnewste]

Well - one thing for sure, your 20 inch Toro lawnmower in NJ will need to be upgraded to at least a new 24 inch push type.

This will be a quite different lifestyle than in (crowded) NJ.

Enjoy!

Raybo

[Worth1]

You will need to get Scythe to cut all of that grass.

Worth

[TomNJ]

Ha! I have a 42" riding mower for my little half acre in NJ - if I had to cut all 25 acres in Virginia I would need a 42 foot mower! Actually I will cut only the area around the house and garden; the rest is in hay and is cut regularly by the farmer down the hill, who I presume keeps the hay. I intend on being real friendly with him!

I am not sure what the vermin situation is at the farm, but assuming the worse (deer) I will wrap the garden in a multi-layer electric wire fence, plus whatever else is necessary. Also the wrap around porch overlooks the garden area, making for clear shots from a pellet rifle. Don't want to kill critters, just send them off with a good welt. Of course if they don't learn that tomatoes take priority, then....

Life in the mountains will be a real contrast to central NJ. The nearest town (Floyd - population 432) is 10 miles away, and there is only one traffic light in the whole county! Real civilization is more like 45 minutes away, but the town of Floyd does have a really good hardware store, two supermarkets, two gas stations, and half a dozen decent restaurants, so we'll survive. We'll just need to get a few items to help, like a pickup truck, a couple of guns, an extra chest freezer, a generator, and a tractor with tiller and snow plow attachments.

Floyd also has hosted a Friday night jamboree at the Country Store for over 100 years with live blue grass music. Seems like the whole town turns out and jams the small dance floor with lively clog dancing. The fun spills out on the street where more musicians gather in small groups with banjos, fiddles, and guitars. We have been visiting the town for some seven years and fell in love with it.

Heading down tomorrow for the house engineering inspection. The house is only 12 years old and well built, so I expect no problems.

Tom NJ/VA

[Barbee]

Its beautiful Tom!
Congratulations

[ContainerTed]

Tom, I was born and raised a bit west of Floyd on the Virginia side of Bristol. I use to do some deer hunting in that area when I was a teenager. The soil may have a lot of red clay component in it. If so, my parents and grandparents always liked it because they said the iron in the red clay "sweetened" the tomatoes and made roses jump for joy.

A few miles to the southwest of you is Galax where they host a yearly music festival with blue grass competitions.

Down toward Abingdon, the Washington County Seat, is Damascus. There used to be a very large Ranger Station there. If it's still open, they can tell you all about the deer herd in that area. There may also be one now in Wytheville.

Better make that pickup a 4WD, and buy a good set of chains. At 2600 feet, you'll definitely see snow each year. But the winter pictures will be gorgeous.

Most of the soil in the lower part of the Shenandoah and all along the Blue Ridge is some of the most fertile in this country. You may have to add some "fluff" to do a gentle break-up of the clay for some veggies (especially root crops).

Take care when out and about. That area has Copperheads, Timber Rattlers, Eastern Diamondbacks, and Water Moccasins along waterways.

That guy down the hill who harvests hay will be nervous that you may dry up his good fortune of free hay. He'll probably be quick to warm up his plow and itching to negotiate.

You're gonna love it !!!! With the size of that house and land, looks like you have to include the word "plantation" in the naming.

[meadowyck]

the rest is in hay and is cut regularly by the farmer down the hill, who I presume keeps the hay. I intend on being real friendly with him!

Yes most certainly you will want to keep him as a friend, and usually that is the exchange of service, they cut for free, but they get to keep the hay from it.

Gosh check out if he has some horses if so, look into seeing if you could get some hauld up to the garden site as soon as you close, this way it can start sitting on the site over the winter to make an excellent start for your next garden season. I'm not much on cow manure, but I lovzzzzzzzz horse manure...

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by meadowyck

I'm not much on cow manure, but I lovzzzzzzzz horse manure...

Wow! Where were girls like you when I got married??

Raybo

[meadowyck]

Raybo, glad to hear of another that loves hm.

[Zana]

Where there's hm there's usually a pony or hose in there somewhere.....to paraphrase an old saying....and wish I could keep a constant supply of hm. Will need it for the new garden beds I'll be putting in over the next few months in preparation for next year's garden. In the mean time I'll soldier on with all the buckets, pots and containers.

I envy you all that space...and definitely the beautiful view. Enjoy it for all of us.

Zana

[biscgolf]

Hi Tom,
Welcome to Virginia!

When you are ready to get your soil tested you should be able to take it to your local VCE (virginia Cooperative Extension) and have rudimentary testing done for free. You can also take it to your local Southern States Co-op for more extensive testing for a low cost- i believe $10 per.

Good luck.

Still going to be humid down there in the summer time though...